Worthy of the Mask (4 in See You Tomorrow series)
by Apritello4evz
Summary: April is troubled by the gift Donatello gave her. Will she ever be worthy enough to wear it alongside him and his brothers? Read to find out!


**Hey guys! Im back! Sorry I took so long, but I promise this story is worth the wait! enjoy!**

April sat in the dojo, watching Donatello train on the punching bag. He charged the bag, yelling his high pitched battle cry of "Whaaaaa!" April giggled. That always made her laugh, but today, she was troubled. On Halloween night, Donnie had given her a saffron yellow bandanna mask, just like he and his brothers wore, and he had said, _"I hope you'll wear it beside me and my brothers one day."_ She sighed. How could she fulfill Donnie's wish if she couldn't even fight? She looked up at Donnie, who had made short work of the punching bag. It now had deep dents in it from his staff, as well as slashes and holes from the built in naginata blade. Splinter saw her troubled face and pulled her aside, leaving Donatello bewildered.

"What troubles you, April?" Splinter asked kindly. "Please tell me, and I will help in any way I can."

"Sensei, Donatello gave me a mask just like his for Halloween, and told me he hoped I would wear it beside him and his brothers one day. How can I do that if I can't even fight?" April explained. She sighed. "I'm just tired of being the damsel in distress." she said. On Halloween, she had stood helpless as Donatello saved her from a pack of thugs.

"This is something I can help you with." Splinter replied, stroking his beard. "I will train you to be a Kunoichi: a female ninja. I must warn you: It will drain your mind, body, and spirit. Do you accept your training?"

"Hai, Sensei. It can't be worse than high school." They moved to the dojo. Donatello had gone to his lab to work on a project. Splinter led her to the middle of the room.

"The first step in your training is to find your weapon." Splinter said. He pulled out several weapons. He tried her with a Bō staff, a pair of sais, nunchucks, and katanas, but none worked for her. "There is one more weapon." Splinter said. He pulled out a steel, fanlike weapon.

"It's beautiful." April said.

"And yet, dangerous." Splinter replied. He threw it, and it sank its edge into the trunk of the dojo's tree. "This is called a Tessen. Care to give it a try?" April wearily agreed. If she had failed at all the others, why should this one work for her?

"Yes, Sensei." April said. Splinter handed her the beautiful weapon.

"Hit the tree's knothole." Splinter commanded. April hesitated. What if she couldn't do it? Then what? But, she _had_ to try. For Donnie! She threw the weapon through the air. It sliced through the air, moving like a boomerang. But for once, it hit the target.

"Well done, April." Splinter praised. "We have found your weapon of choice."

"Thank you, Master Splinter. When may I begin my training?"

"Right now."

From that moment forward April and Master Splinter trained with the Tessen every day. By late November, she was almost a full-fledged Kunoichi. One day, just like the one when April began her training, she was watching Donnie train on the punching bag again, when Splinter suggested she spar with Donatello. Donatello overheard and promptly agreed.

"I think it's a great idea!" Donnie said. April blushed.

"I shall get the others." Splinter said, rushing out of of the room. April and Donatello got into sparring positions. Soon, the others trooped in through the dojo door, with Splinter leading. They got into position to watch the match, as did Splinter. April and Donatello awaited the command to begin, and soon they heard it. "Hajime!" Splinter called, and the match began. April charged toward Donnie, tessen at the ready. Donnie was caught off guard by the speed of her attack. He knew she had been trained, but how much had she learned? A lot, he calculated, because she got him with a very sharp swipe with her Tessen to his thigh. It was a wide cut, and was bleeding badly, but Donatello refused to have the match suspended. This was a learning experience for April! He couldn't spoil this! He got in a sharp whack with his staff on April's arm, but he was afraid to hurt her. After fifteen minutes of fighting equally matched, April landed a hard punch to Donnie's jaw. He went down hard. "Yamei!" Splinter cried. April immediately went to Donnie's aid. He groaned softly. The cut on his leg was bleeding more than before. The others rushed over. Donatello got up woozily.

"I'm fine, guys." he said, stumbling away from their help, but his knees buckled under him. April rushed to his side, getting under him just in time, and helped him to his room.

Donatello woke up in his room, and wondered how he got there. Then he saw the fresh bandages on his leg, crimson blood soaking through, and remembered how April had beaten him when they had sparred. April was sitting on the bed.

"How long was I-" he started.

"Two hours." April answered. "Everyone was worried sick when you collapsed. Raph looked ready to do me in!" Donatello chuckled and sat up on the edge of the bed, cringing from the pain in his leg.

"Do you still have the present I gave you?" he asked.

"I've kept it with me ever since you gave it to me." April replied, taking out the saffron yellow mask. The tails were longer than Donatello's, but shorter than Raph's. "I was afraid I wasn't worthy of wearing it," April admitted, blushing. "I was always the damsel in distress."

"You've always been worthy of this, April." Donatello said. "I always knew you were, even before you beat me." Donatello gently took the mask from her hands and tied on. April opened her eyes with the mask on, and Donatello saw a new side to her. Not a damsel in distress, but a dedicated Kunoichi warrior. He pulled her close, and they kissed. Suddenly, they were rudely interrupted by Mikey, Leo, Raph, and Splinter bursting into the room to see how Donatello was doing.

"D! You're ok!" Mikey exclaimed, throwing his arms around Donatello.

"Mornin' Sleeping Beauty." Raph said sarcastically.

"I can't believe you got beat up by a _girl_." Leo said. April glared at him. "N-not like that's a bad thing." Leo amended quickly, putting up his hands.

"I am glad you are all right, my son." Splinter said calmly. Donatello nodded at each of them in turn. Suddenly, April bolted upright.

"Are you guys doing anything for Christmas?" she asked anxiously.

"No, my child." Splinter replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I just had the greatest idea! We could go up to my family's farmhouse upstate for the winter, and maybe stay longer for training in the spring! It would be a great way for you guys to get used to fighting in the forest!" April said, gesturing at the four turtles. The turtles looked at Splinter expectantly.

"I agree with April." he said. "It would be a good idea to get you boys used to fighting in a new environment, and I suppose we could stay and train for a while, perhaps into mid sp-" Splinter got cut off by the four brothers shouting, "Woo hoo! Road trip!" and racing out of the room, with April in tow. Splinter could April talking about the land, "...and there's a lake, right next to the house! We could go swimming once it gets warm enough!..." she continued, her voice fading away as the excited teens got farther away. Splinter sat on Donatello's bed.

Splinter chuckled, shaking his head. "Teenagers."

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story, but i am sorry to say that my next stories will be probably even further delayed. But, I will try my best to write often, I promise! Until next time Apritello rules!**


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